5th May 2023: Meeting Notes
1. Attendance.
Helen, Tania, Lyn, Chris, Tokiko, Jeff, Joan.
2. Relocation.
• We agreed to relocate to the Emmaus Room, Our Blessed Lady Immaculate Church, Village Lane, Washington Village, NE38 7HS from June 2023.
• Chris confirmed that there’s be no charge for use of the room and that there would be tea/coffee facilities available.
• Helen will update the website to reflect this and contact group member to tell them of the change of location.
• Helen will also let Marc Morley know (see next section).
3. Meeting with Marc Morley – Preparation
• Marc Morley (Director of Environmental Services) is attending our June meeting (from 10-10.45am).
• We discussed the points we want to raise with him – these follow in the next subsections (3.1–3.11).
• Helen will email the questions (and location information) to him before the next meeting so he can prepare for the meeting.
3.1 Recycling Performance
1. Where is the UK in terms of world-wide recycling performance (does it vary for type of waste?)
2. Where is Sunderland in terms of country-wide recycling performance (does it vary for type of waste?)
3. Where does our recycling end up – do you track waste from collection to destination?
3.2 Recycling (blue bins)
1. What are the most common mistakes made by residents in recycling?
2. Which mistakes have most negative impact on recycling?
3. Can you define the difference between cardboard and paper? Does it matter?
4. Is it important to use the black inner box for paper?
a. Many residents report seeing waste they have separated being thrown into the “blue bin” wagons together.
i. Has the need to separate disappeared?
ii. Is this poor, rather than expected, practice?
5. Soft plastics:
a. Why can these not be recycled in blue bins?
b. Are things likely to evolve so they can be included in the blue bin collection?
3.3 Recycling (not blue bins)
1. Soft plastics: when taken to supermarkets for recycling what happens to them?
a. Does the council have any oversight of this or influence practice?
2. Dark/black plastics:
a. What can be done with these plastics that we are told NOT to put in the blue bins?
b. Are things likely to evolve so they can be included in the blue bin collection?
3.4 Large/Bulky Items Special Collection
The current policy is now “All bulky waste collections booked from 1 April 2023 will be free of charge, subject to availability and eligibility.” (Bulky Waste FAQs April23) but people either are confused or don’t know about this.
1. Is there a limit on how many collections a resident can request in a year?
2. Does the council have a preference (a “hierarchy of disposal”) for how residents get id of these items? If so:
a. Does the council have a strategy for getting this message out to residents?
b. Does the council have a strategy for helping residents adhere to this?
3. What was the impact on fly-tipping of removing the free bulky items collection service, is this what has led to reinstatement?
3.5 Recycling Centres
1. How well is the new Pallion recycling centre working?
a. What impact is the “Revive” shop having on what is going into waste?
b. Can computing/electronic devices be donated?
c. Is the shop managing to sell the donated goods – or do they end up in landfill?
d. Can people wanting to go to the Revive shop just bypass those waiting to drop off waste, or do they have to queue with them?
3.6 Waste Collection (brown bins)
1. What happens to this collection?
a. Does the council create compost to be used by the parks department for example?
b. Is all the compost created used by the council? Can residents buy any (this happens elsewhere)?
c. Of the various “forbidden items: why can we not include the following?
i. Vegetable peelings, Tea bags or coffee grinds,
ii. large items of garden waste (such as tree trunks and large branches), wood/timber, soil, turf.
iii. Compostable plastic.
3.7 Food Waste Collection (not done)
1. Why does the council NOT collect food waste? It is collected by some other councils.
2. Are there any plans to introduce this?
3.8 External Waste Collection
1. Why are there no recycling bins within the Galleries shopping centre?
a. Can the council influence the Galleries management on this?
3.9 Volunteer-Supported Environmental Projects in Sunderland
1. Are there any environmental projects up and running, or planned, for volunteers in Sunderland? (We have failed to find any, other litter-picking).
a. Do you have a list of volunteer projects, resident associations (and what they’re doing), etc.?
b. Is there a plan to develop any?
c. Washington residents often feel they are at the bottom of the list for consideration in terms of environmental improvement
– with the city centre, Sunderland parks and beaches getting the lion’s share of the investment/focus.
What percentage of the environmental budget is devoted to Washington? How does this compare with other parts of the city?
3.10 Reporting Fly Tipping or Overgrow Vegetation
1. Currently the process for reporting fly-tipping, etc. is based on using postcodes (even when a pin is dropped on a google map).
2. Can this be looked at to allow other options (e.g. “What three words”) since often the location of these problems is NOT easily identified by a postcode.
3.11 Water Quality, Sewerage
There is a lot of concern nationally and locally about the quality of river water, water pollution, sewerage discharge and water leakage.
1. Does the council monitor Northumbria Water’s performance?
2. What kind of relationship/interaction does the council have with Northumbria Water?
4. Information on Recycling and Retailers
This is additional to information in March’s report.
1. Plastic plant pots: Dobbies will take old or unwanted plastic pots and trays. 'Working with our national waste management partners, we bale the plastic pots and trays on-site, and they are collected and taken to regional recycling plants where they are processed and turned into plastic pellets to be turned back into new plastic items.'
2. Soft (flexible) plastics:
a. Sainsbury’s working in partnership with the Flexible Plastic Fund initiative.
b. Tesco: soft plastic collected in its stores currently being recycled into bin liners at a recycling facility in Derbyshire.
c. “None of Sainsbury’s flexible plastic recycled in the UK” E&T article 2022
3. Reusing better than recycling.
a. At Sunderland’s new waste and recycling centre on Pallion Industrial estate there is a reuse/charity shop “Revive” that takes and sells items (including electricals).
b. A new v. large Salvation Army store has opened on Wessington Way retail park – currently looking for furniture.
c. A v. large charity shop “Daisy” has opened on Team Valley (cf. “department store”).
The meeting ran from 10-11.30am.
Next meeting: 2nd June 2023, Emmaus Room, Our Lady Blessed Immaculate Church, Village Lane, Washington Village. 10-12noon.
Back to Our Environment group page.